UPDATED: Firefighters still extinguishing Wednesday afternoon wildfire south of Atwood

Wind, South Platte River making blaze harder to fight

Firefighters watch flames near a home southeast of Atwood. (David Martinez/Journal-Advocate)

ATWOOD -- A fire is still simmering from a spark-up Wednesday afternoon between Atwood and Merino east of Highway 6, kept alive by intense winds and dry conditions. The area was under a red flag warning Wednesday as a cold front blew in.

Sterling Fire Chief Kurt Vogel said the blaze started around 12:30 p.m. and expanded throughout the day, with the initial flames covering a narrow two-and-a-half-mile area. He estimated the fire had spread to about 3,000 acres, though the official size has not been determined.

Highway 6 was shut down briefly between Atwood and Merino as crews worked to contain the blaze.

The fire became more difficult to contain after embers jumped across the South Platte River, catching some trees in the area along the river that make it difficult for fire engines to reach.

Merino Fire Department was first to respond to the fire, followed by units from Sterling, Hillrose, Peetz, Fleming and Crook. Planes from Scott Aviation were also used for drops on the fire and for monitoring its spread.

"It was easy to get to the fire at first, but between the wind and the trees it became difficult," Vogel said. "Resources were limited, even though we had several crews from several different departments. By the time we thought we had it, the wind picked up and the fire ended up getting to the trees... There wasn't a lot we could do."

Crews from Sterling and Merino continued to monitor the fire through the night to make sure there weren't any significant flare-ups and that none of the homes in the area became threatened.

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Vogel said "three or four" structures in the area were threatened at the fire's peak last night and that residents self-evacuated, but those structures are no longer under threat. There were also reports of a similar fire near the train tracks closer to Merino that may have involved some structures, but none were burned down.

Two fire trucks encountered electrical difficulties last night as well - one from Sterling, which involved a water pump, and one from Merino.

"Typically when we're running after these wind-driven fires, we're running the trucks pretty hard," Vogel said. "They end up getting bumped around a lot. In the dark we can't correct it."

The Sterling truck should be fixed by this afternoon.

Crews from Sterling and Merino will likely check on the fire's progress for the next day to day-and-a-half, as it continues to move slowly through the trees. Lower temperatures, lower wind speeds and a higher moisture content in the air have prevented it from continuing to quickly spread.

The cause of the fire also hasn't been officially determined, but Vogel said they suspect sparks from the train tracks may have ignited the brush. He still hasn't spoken enough with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railways to see if their trains had issues on Wednesday.

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